Lauren Jackson will be inducted into the basketball hall of fame becoming the first ever Australian player to do so.
Jackson is without a doubt one of Australia's all-time greatest athletes and arguably Australia's greatest ever basketballer.
The likes of Andrew Bogut, Andrew Gaze and Patty Mills are often spoken about as our best players of the game, but none have a resume that comes close to that of Jackson.
Bogut, Mills and Gaze have all won an NBA championship in their careers, but Jackson has amassed 2 WNBA championships to go with her 3 WNBA MVP awards.
Jackson has also won the WNBA Finals MVP and has had her number 15 jersey retired by the Seattle Storm.
Bogut, Gaze and Mills while all valuable in their own rights to their championship teams have not got close to the individual dominance Jackson showed in the US.
Jackson has also managed to lead her country to the podium on four occasions at the Olympic Games.
Three silver medals in 2000, 2004 and 2018 and a bronze in 2012 show the leadership and influence Jackson had on that team as they competed for the top prize at the Olympics during her tie in the team.
Jackson did manage to secure a gold medal at the 2006 world championships in a richly deserved reward for her and the Opals sustained period of success.
The Opals are a higher ranked team then the Boomers, but the Opals success was and still is largely in thanks to the culture Jackson helped put in place.
There is no disrespect here to Bogut, Gaze or Mills, all three have been incredible representatives of Australia and have had or in Mills' case having a tremendous NBA career(s).
Jackson however has a resume miles beyond anyone else this country has produced, it's a resume of an all-time great of the game and she deserves far more credit.
The 2012 London Olympics Australian flag bearer is not only one of the countries greatest ever basketballers but she's also one of Australia's greatest ever athletes.
Jackson is a seven-time WNBA All-Star as well, Ben Simmons is a three-time NBA All-Star and at this rate he will pass Jackson's seven selections but the MVP awards and championships count have Jackson head and shoulders above the rest.
She deserves way more praise then she receives and hopefully her induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame will help put some much needed respect on her name.
